Years ago I came across this delicious curry and rice combination on an old episode of Julia Child's Cooking with Master Chefs series. Child, the grand dame of American cooking, was hosting Madhur Jaffrey-- a chef who, I think, can easily be described as the grand dame of Indian cooking, at least in the western world.
In the episode, Jaffrey cooked a south Indian shrimp curry and dill rice. The spices, herbs, and flavors she added sounded perfectly harmonious yet vibrantly explosive. I just had to try a vegan version.
I changed up the recipe for the curry quite a bit to make it healthier and leaner, but Jaffrey deserves the credit because had she not made this curry, I never would have created mine. I used a few Mexican peppers to add fire and smoke to my recipe, including two anchos and a couple of arbol chilies. Adjust the spice to your taste because this sauce is quite fiery.
Jaffrey's dill rice was more easily veganized so I didn't have to tweak it much except to replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock. This is my favorite rice recipe and one I've made in my kitchen over and over for years now.
Dill is an herb that's easily found in supermarkets here in the United States, yet it also tends to be rather underused. It has one of the strongest personalities among herbs but that personality is so pleasant that it's hard not to love it once you've tried it. If you never have, this is the perfect recipe to begin with.
In India, dill is considered a leafy vegetable rather than an herb. My mom would often pick a bunch of "shepu," as dill is known in Marathi, from the women who sold vegetables out of straw baskets along neighborhood streets in Bombay. She'd cook it up with a few simple spices into a delicious bhaji that I'll share with you some other day.
I hope everyone's looking forward to the weekend, wet or dry. And ooh, I need to buy a ticket for that record half-billion Megamillion jackpot on my way home from work tonight!
Enjoy, all!
More vegan curry recipes
- Easy Tofu Curry
- Tofu Makhani
- Instant Pot Vegan Butter "Chicken"
- How to marinate and bake tofu for Indian dishes
Tofu 'Shrimp' Curry
Ingredients
- 14 oz extra firm tofu (water pressed out, then cut into eight slabs)
- 1 teaspoon garlic (grated)
- 1 teaspoon ginger (grated)
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoon avocado oil or any neutral oil (divided)
- 1 1- inch ball of tamarind , soaked in ½ cup of warm water for about half an hour. Squeeze the solids to extract the tamarind pulp and strain if it's too lumpy. Reserve the pulp.
- 2 ancho chillies (Remove stems and seeds. Cut down to one ancho for a less smoky version, or substitute this with a mild paprika if you'd rather)
- 2 arbol chillies.
- ¼ teaspoon fenugreek (methi) seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoon cashew nuts
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon jaggery (can use regular or brown sugar instead)
- Salt to taste
- ¼ cup cilantro (chopped)
Instructions
- Soak the deseeded anchos in water for about 30 minutes.
- Make the marinade for the tofu by whisking together ginger, garlic, black pepper and 1 teaspoon vegetable oil. Marinate the tofu slices, making sure you dredge both sides in the marinade.
- After 30 minutes, , bake the tofu in a 400-degree oven for about 30 minutes or until it's golden brown on top and quite chewy. Once cool enough to handle, cut the tofu slabs into smaller cubes.
- Toast the fenugreek seeds, coriander seeds and peppercorns in a dry skillet set over medium heat, about 2 minutes or until the spices start to get fragrant and the coriander seeds turn a couple of shades darker. Don't walk away because you do not want the fenugreek-- or anything else-- to burn.
- Remove the spices from the skillet and set aside to cool.
- Toast the soaked anchos and the arbol chilies in the skillet until they start to change color. Flip over and toast the other side. Altogether this won't take more than 2 minutes.
- Add the anchos, arbol, toasted spices, onion, garlic and cashew nuts to a blender. Add enough water to make a thick, smooth paste. I like to make mine really smooth because I love the velvety texture of the finished curry.
- Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in a saucepan.
- Add the mustard seeds and when they sputter, add the curry leaves.
- Toast for a few seconds, and then add the blended chili and onion paste.
- Cook over medium heat, stiirring constantly, until the mixture turns a few shades darker and the water has evaporated.
- Add the tamarind pulp along with 1 cup water. If the curry is too thick, add more water.
- Add salt, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat so the sauce simmers. Let it cook for 15 minutes without covering it.
- Add the tofu cubes and let the sauce simmer for another five minutes.
- Add the coconut milk and jaggery. Mix well and warm through. Turn off the heat and garnish with coriander leaves.
- Serve hot with Dill Rice (recipe below).
Ingredients
- 2 cups long-grain rice like basmati. Soak the rice for about 30 minutes , then put in a colander to strain. Set aside.
- 2 ⅔ cups of water or vegetable stock
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 2 small dry red chillies
- 1 1- inch stick of cinnamon
- 4 pods of green cardamom
- 4 cloves
- 1 large or two small bay leaves
- 1 packed cup of chopped dill
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid.
- Add the red chillies, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaves
- When the spices start to turn color, add the rice and saute for a minute or until the rice turns opaque.
- Add the water and then the dill and salt to taste. Stir to mix and bring it to a boil.
- Put on the lid, turn the heat down to low, and let the rice cook 20 minutes. Leave it standing undisturbed for another 10 minutes before serving.
- Fluff the rice gently with a fork to separate the grains before serving.
Raj
Thanks for the recipes! I can’t wait to try them!
Anonymous
I love your recipes! I'm wondering if I can use dried dill for this recipe?
Vaishali
Yes, dry dill is fine!
Anonymous
Excellent with tofu- using the sauce for green beans tonight. Question: is there onion in the rice? Looks like so in the pic. G
Anonymous
Vaishali, tried your tofu curry with roits for dinner and absolutely loved it!!! The color was gorgeous in spite of using only paprika. My 8 year old daughter who is apprehensive about tofu just gobbled it up. Love your blog and recipes, keep up the good work!
Vaishali
Anonymous, that's great. Even happier your daughter liked it. 🙂 Thanks for the feedback.
Anonymous
I always get dill in my csa box, and have never known what to so with it...now I do! Thanks! I forward so many of your recipes to a non-vegan friend who always goes on about them...I don't know if she realizes it's all vegan!
Vaishali
Thanks, Anonymous, for your kind words. Hope you try the dill rice.
Vaishali
Hi Samarpita, vegan paprikash with dry dill sounds wonderful. Use paprika instead of the ancho (or any mild red Indian chili you might have) and the regular spicy dry red Indian chilies we use for curries instead of the arbol. You could also add half of a red bell pepper for color.
Samarpita
I now know what to do with the block of soft tofu languishing in my fridge. As for dill, I looove that herb, but since hubby does not like it much I buy it dried. It goes especially well with vegan paprikash (a very good recipe available on and Post Punk Kitchen.
But I do not have access to all exotic chillies you mention - any alternatives?
Jagruti
Finally a dish to use the ancho chillies sitting in my pantry! I have used these in a real shrimp curry and absolutely loved the smoky flavor it imparts..now on to trying this one! 🙂
Vaishali
Jagruti, yeah, that smoky flavor is quite amazing, isn't it? And it goes so well with so many Indian dishes.
Richa
love the creamy curry and the texture! .. i never caught on to dill here.. but maybe it will work with rice. Its quite a strong flavor. that color of the gravy is pretty!
Vaishali
Hi Richa, the dill really works in the rice-- worth a try.
Dawn
Looks like another delicious recipe for me try. Thanks so much!
Vaishali
Dawn, thanks!
Poornima Nair
That sauce sounds delicious!! Love the rich color!
Vaishali
Thanks, Poornima. The anchos really help with the color-- they make everything a bright, beautiful red.
ANU
wow very inviting n nice combo....as always luv ur clicks!
Vaishali
Thanks, Anu. I'll be sure to pass on your compliment about the pictures to Desi, my resident photographer. 🙂
Laavanya
I love how luscious that sauce is and how it's hugging the tofu!
Vaishali
Laavanya, thanks! 🙂
Anonymous
Vaishali, you are one of the best food writers I know. Your descriptions and background info are so evocative and colorful, and your recipes are so precise and well selected that they are a joy to read, easy to cook and great to eat. I must confess I'm not much into vegan food, and sometimes I wish (big sigh)that you weren't one either, so we'd have the benefit of some non-veg dishes from you, but alas. Best wishes.- Michael
Vaishali
Michael, you are very kind! Thank you for the lovely compliment-- you made my day!
Anonymous
It looks like you listed Tamarind twice in the ingredient list....
This looks very tasty--I love that you create vegan versions of Indian food!
Vaishali
Anon, thanks for pointing that out. I've corrected it. 🙂